


Catherine Kent, Daily Planet

by Moirae (TigerDragon), TiaNadiezja



Category: Superman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 02:25:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14684487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerDragon/pseuds/Moirae, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiaNadiezja/pseuds/TiaNadiezja
Summary: Catherine Kent, star reporter for the Daily Planet, has rather a lot of decisions to make. Her record on good decisions vs. bad is... mixed.





	1. Chapter 1

“Um.... excuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me.” Catherine Kent’s progress across the work floor of the Daily Planet was a catalog of minor clumsiness and apology worthy of a professional slapstick comedian. By the time she leaned up against her desk again and straightened her conservative gray skirt suit and glasses, she must have worked through half the room. Just to cap it off, she nearly bumped Lois’s coffee into her lap and only caught it at the last moment. “Sorry, Lois.”

Lois Lane looked up from her computer, taking the cup from Catherine with a degree of care born of longsuffering acquaintance.  “It’s okay, Cate. Just be more careful... I’ve got an interview with Alexis Luthor on my tape recorder that hasn’t been transcribed yet.  It’s going on page 2 tomorrow.”

“Alexis.... I mean, Miss Luthor.” Catherine’s voice didn’t quite squeak, though her blue eyes widened behind her glasses. “You got her to give you an interview? Without... um.... doing anything crazy?”

“It’s a matter of timing, Cate.  When Miss Luthor has something she wants to show off, she’ll talk about it... and there’s an energy to Lexcorp when they’re close to an important breakthrough.”  Lois pushed Play on the recorder.

“... A new era for humanity.  Within a decade, the fifteen most common cancers will be curable with a two-week regimen of pills and exercise.  Within a generation, the word ‘tumor’ will be a historical relic, fallen to human progress the way smallpox and dark nights already have.”  Alexis Luthor’s voice shone with the pride that drove her every action.

A peculiar flush started in Catherine’s cheeks, just shy of a full-on blush, and her voice dropped to a murmur that was - for a second - not quite as dull and shy. A murmur that was almost husky. “Oh, my.”

“I know.  It really is amazing...”  Lois seemed entirely unaware of the change in Catherine’s voice.  “Of course, she’s probably going to cap off the announcement by toppling a skyscraper while trying to kill Superwoman, so I’m going to take her efforts at helping improve the lot of humanity with a grain of salt.”

“I’ll never understand why she hates Superwoman so much. It can’t just be envy, can it? That seems so petty for a woman like that.” Catherine sighed softly, settling down at her desk and tapping at her computer for a moment, eyes scanning the screen. “I’ve got the city beat articles for pages 7, 9, 8 and 11 ready. Maybe something about Intergang for nearer the front, but it needs a few more days to cook. Do you.... um, would you like to get something to eat? Once you get your interview typed up?”

Lois took a moment to answer, and when she did it was almost entirely absent.  “I’ll be hungry by then. The cafe at Sixty-Second and Kane?”

“That sounds great.” Catherine brightened visibly, setting to work on her typing and working the phone with eager - if not exactly elegant - enthusiasm. Complete lack of personal charisma, reflexes or grace aside, she was a damn good reporter. Bit of a flake, bit of a lost lamb, but she could smell blood in the water with the best of them and she had a knack for finding the right ‘insignificant’ person to talk to. The right random piece of information in a sea of facts.

 

* * *

 

“I read your piece on the COSMOS Project.”  Lois stabbed a leaf of lettuce with her fork aggressively enough to penetrate one of the Green Lantern’s shields - a sure sign that she was excited enough about a story to wish little concerns like food and sleep would set themselves aside for her - before chewing it methodically.  “Impressive story. Do you think that, now that it’s out in the open, the President will really insist on launching microwave-firing satellites into space?”

“I hope not. It would be wrong.” Catherine said the words with such simple matter-of-factness that it was as though any other reason was purely superfluous. “Space shouldn’t be something we fill full of weapons.”

“My problem isn’t putting the weapons up there - we’ve had enough weapons come down from there that I wouldn’t mind knocking a few of them around a bit before they get here.  My problem is pointing them down rather than up.” Lois lifted her sandwich, taking a savage bite. “The universe is dangerous enough that we don’t need new and better ways to kill each other.”

“We shouldn’t need new and better ways to kill anyone.” A moment of genuine passion leaked into Catherine’s voice, and it made the deep blue of her eyes sparkle behind her glasses. “We can be better than that - all of us can. We just need to be shown the way, and to try.” She hesitated, cleared her throat, then looked down at her pasta as though embarrassed by her own forcefulness. “That’s what I think, anyway.”

“You’ve written as many articles on Superwoman as I have, Cate.  You know that sometimes those things that fall from the sky or rise out of mad scientists’ labs or whatever aren’t here to talk.  Too often, really.” Lois sighed, sipping her soda. “I wish it was different. If a civilization is advanced enough to get those things to Earth, you’d think they’d be advanced enough not to want us all dead when they got here.”

“I wish it worked that way.” Catherine reached over and squeezed Lois’s hand, and her smile was wistful - coveting a world that didn’t exist. “At least you’re trying to make it better.”

“Thanks, Cate.”  Lois squeezed Catherine’s hand firmly.  “We’re trying. A few reporters against the world... that’s what it feels like sometimes, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it does.” Cate’s smile was small and warm. “I think the Planet is the thing in my life I’m proudest of. Working with you.”

“We’ve done some good work.”  Lois patted Catherine’s hand gently before returning to her food.  “And we’re going to do more...” Then the windows of the cafe exploded inward, sending her diving under the table with the same quick reflexes that serving in a war zone would give a soldier.

The source of the burst of sound that shattered the windows became obvious a moment later, as two huge, startlingly fast forms stumbled backward into view.  The taller, more slender of the forms moved in near-silence, all silver and sharp edges with three glowing red eyes placed in different places on its quadrupedal, robotic body.  The other form was nowhere near silent, and nowhere near graceful.

Solomon Grundy roared as he swatted away one of the wicked, bladed legs of the robot, barely keeping it from impaling his torso, and delivered a headbutt powerful enough to fling a bus three city blocks.  The robot casually tossed Grundy aside, throwing him through the large plate glass windows of the shop across the street from the cafe before two of those red eyes erupted with blue-green laser fire. It flashed across the street, then splashed away in a halo of light from a sharp red S-shield and a rather well-formed chest. 

“That will be quite enough from both of you.” Superwoman’s voice filled the street with a calm, clear authority that was more reproving than angry. She was tall, lean and graceful, her dark hair free around her shoulders in a coal-black wave and her deep blue eyes burning with their own inner light. She looked like the wrath of God wrapped into blue and red and gold. “Grundy, please stay there and don’t hurt anything else. You, whatever you are, stop trying to hurt him and let’s discuss what sort of help you might need.”

“Grundy HELPING!  Grundy do nothing wrong!  Why blue girl always think Grundy do wrong?”  Grundy pushed himself to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at the robot.  “Bad men make bad toy.”

The robot was far less talkative.  After taking a moment to analyze the relative threats posed by Superwoman and Grundy, it faced Superwoman fully, firing all three of its lasers at her, searing the air between them into a mix of ozone and free electrons.

“Thank you for your help, Solomon.” She floated forward slowly, breasting the wave of laser fire as she scanned the robot with her x-ray vision. “I’m sorry to yell at you. Please make less mess helping next time, for me?” Then she struck it - a single hard yank through the armor of its torso, dragging the links between the computer core and the systems out of it between her fingers.

The robot’s instinctive AI kicked in, channeling the full power of its micro-fusion reactors into its mechanical muscles and laser cannons, unleashing every bit of energy that it would normally save for a decade of operation in a few moments.  The laser beams managed to burn pinprick holes in Superwoman’s cape and costume before Grundy delivered an axe handle smash to the robot’s head, knocking it down and away from Superwoman to spend its last few seconds skittering helplessly on the sidewalk before ceasing to function.  “Grundy try break less buildings next time.”

“Thank you, Solomon. Thank you very much.” Kaer Jor-El smiled gently as she took his massive stone-like hand in hers, her voice reassuring even if her eyes were ever so slightly exasperated. “Please be careful not to break any buildings, people or cars while you’re leaving, as well.”

“Grundy will be careful.”  After shaking Superwoman’s hand, Grundy turned and walked away, managing to get out of sight before cracking the sidewalk with a too-heavy step.

“Cate?”  Lois crawled out from under her table, looking around for her companion for a moment before realizing she couldn’t see her anywhere and jumping to her feet.  “Cate? Are you here? Are you hurt?”

“I believe you friend may be unconscious, Miss Lane, though she doesn’t seem to be hurt.” Superwoman’s voice was quietly reassuring as she floated in the window. “I would offer to help you move the table she’s stuck behind, but I’m afraid I need to take this robot away for examination. Can you manage?”

“I can.  Thank you, Superwoman.”  Lois smiled, actually blushing a bit as she grasped the Kryptonian’s hands for a moment.  “Take care.”

“And you, Miss Lane.” Then she and the robot were gone, all in the blink of an eye. Just like that, vanished.

It took a minute or two to work the table out of the way, and Catherine offered her an embarrassed smile once they got it loose. “Sorry, Lois. Guess I missed everything - did I hear Superwoman’s voice?”

“Superwoman, Solomon Grundy, and a robot.  Anything broken?” Lois helped Catherine to her feet.

“No... just a few bruises and my pride.” Catherine offered a small, faint smile. “Get a good look?”

“Caught most of it, and heard enough to get the gist of the rest.  Grundy seems to be on another of his heroic binges.” Lois started toward the door, not releasing Catherine’s hand.  “Come on, Smallville. We’ve got a giant robot to investigate.”

“Right with you, Lois.” Catherine grabbed her bag up off the floor, shaking off the broken glass and fumbling for her pad. “Start with Lexcorp or Cadmus?”

“This one feels more like Cadmus.  If Lex built a robot, it wouldn’t get loose on accident, and if Lex built a robot she wanted loose, it would have taken Superwoman more than a minute and a half to take it down.”

“True. You’re right, that does sound more like Cadmus. I’ll talk to the staff and the scientists, you shake down the administrators?”

“You always let me have the administrators.  You’re so sweet.” Lois favored Catherine with a smile before hailing a taxi.

“I like scientists better. They make more sense.” Catherine smiled, and there was a shy awkward warmth in it. “So I guess that means we work well as a complementary pair?”

“We always have, Cate.”  Lois leaned forward, speaking a bit too loudly to the cabbie.  “CADMUS labs... Old Bay Bridge and Height.”

“I was thinking that maybe... if we can go to one without it being blown up by a robot.... maybe we could go to dinner this week. Somewhere nicer than the cafe.” As they pulled out, Catherine leaned into the door of the cab and gave Lois what was obviously trying very hard to be a confident smile and not succeeding very well at it.

“Cate...”  Lois looked at Catherine for a long moment, her expression the same tired, sad one that accompanied every one of her rejections, before the words coming from her mouth surprised her.  “Tell me when and where. I’ll meet you there.”  _ I shouldn’t do this, but... we do work well together.  One chance. I’ll give it one chance. _

Catherine’s face lit up like a child on Christmas morning, and she visibly fought down the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl. When she finally got her breath back, she just nodded firmly and reached over to squeeze Lois’s hand. “Let’s put this story to bed, and then I’ll tell you all about it. Okay?”

“Sounds good.”  Lois offered Catherine a small smile.   _ I’m probably leading her on, but... one chance. _

__

* * *

 

“So, how has the work in robotics been going, Professor? I understand you’ve been making a lot of progress in multi-track AIs.” Catherine smiled pleasantly, doing her best on-the-record bland warmth and looking about as dangerous as a bunny rabbit chewing on a sprig of grass. It was a surprisingly effective way to get people to open up.

“I’m... sorry, Miss Kent, but I really should get back to work.”  Professor James Layton glanced nervously at his computer monitor as if expecting something horribly incriminating to pop up on it at any moment.  “Perhaps we can discuss this tomorrow?”

“Perhaps you, Kent, can meet with Doctor Layton tomorrow.  Today, I have a few questions for my good friend James.” The voice was familiar and powerful and quite capable of sending shivers through Catherine’s body, and when its owner - the tall, wiry woman with the green eyes that could send veteran politicians and mercenaries into tears with a long look and the once-red hair bleached white by a lab accident - stepped into view, the sight of her very nearly did.  “Like who in my Robotics division is leaking my technology to CADMUS, and is incompetent enough that the leak led to what happened on Sixty-Second today.”

“We didn’t mean to cause any harm...”  Layton couldn’t finish the last word before he was interrupted.

“I don’t mean the harm, James.  That thing was amateurish. If your people are going to steal my technology, I expect you to at least implement it  _ competently _ .”  Alexis Luthor stepped terribly close to Layton, into his personal space, close enough that a slender slip of paper would bridge the gap between them.  “You’re making me look bad, Layton.”

“Um.” Catherine Kent piped up softly, deferential but still persistent. “‘Alexis Luthor to Cadmus Labs: You’re Making Me Look Bad. Amateurish Design of High Concern, Injuries Unimportant.’ Do you have anything you want me to add to that story before I run it, Miss Luthor?”

“Still here, Kent?  Why are you always where I don’t want you and never where I do?”  Luthor turned in place, her back to Layton with as much concern as she’d give a fly considered insignificant by its fellow insects, and focused those emerald eyes on Catherine.  “Statement: Lexcorp condemns this obvious act of government theft. The POLAR Artificial Intelligence, in its original specification, is incapable of offensive action without direct command from a qualified individual, and even then is not intended for military application.  This event, and the harm that it caused, is the fault of incompetent government officials given too much leeway to act above the law. Lexcorp suggests that Project CADMUS should be investigated by the relevant Congressional panels immediately.”

Catherine stood her ground without flinching - she might be a wallflower and a clumsy weakling, but she had some metal in her spine. “And what about the current robotics applications under research at Lexcorp, Miss Luthor? The ones so impressive that a version ‘executed incompetently’ still caused a remarkable amount of damage and several very severe injuries in downtown Metropolis today. Will they also be subject to public hearing at Congressional panels?”

“The intended capabilities of Lexcorp’s military robotics projects are a matter of public record, Miss Kent... all but one are being built under contract with the Department of Defense, and the last is being built for the Royal Air Force.  We do intend to keep our corporate secrets... secret. I’m certain that this event will make quite obvious why that is the case.”

“And you’re not concerned that such dangerous projects are being held under such lax security, Miss Luthor? Especially when they endanger the citizens of Metropolis.”

“If there is one thing I’ll give the government - particularly CADMUS - credit for, it is their ability to ferret out secrets.  I understand that they have the shield frequency to the Justice League’s space station in their computers here somewhere... something I’m certain Superwoman and her friends will be quite interested in knowing.”  Alexis shrugged. “I believe I am done here. If you would like to talk at greater length about this, call Mercy. I’ll have her arrange a meeting for us, over dinner.”

That rocked Catherine back on her heels slightly, and she cleared her throat slowly as she adjusted her glasses. “Dinner and an interview, Miss Luthor? Privately?”

“That is the offer.”  Alexis smirked. “I don’t have time to arrange it now, of course.”  She turned back to Layton, acknowledging him for the first time in minutes.  “And you, James, will find whoever leaked that information to you, for your sake as well as mine.  After all, if you didn’t get bad information from one of my employees, that would mean that your team designed a robot that went insane and trashed two blocks of downtown before being stopped by...”  Alexis cleared her throat before drawing the next words out. “Solomon Grundy.”

Catherine couldn’t quite keep herself from smiling faintly at that. “Apparently he was very helpful, Miss Luthor. Clumsy, but helpful. That’s what Superwoman said on the topic, anyway.”

“When your robot has caused enough damage that having Solomon Grundy fight it is an improvement to the status quo, your work needs to be reevaluated.  Thank you for your time, Doctor. Miss Kent.” Alexis walked out of the room, and the air seemed to gain three degrees of temperature and shed half an atmosphere of pressure.

“Hem.” Catherine straightened her glasses, dragged in a breath and got back to work. “So, Mister Layton, would you care to comment on Miss Luthor’s accusations?”

“I really shouldn’t.  Classified, you know.”  Layton turned back toward his computer, gazing at it nervously.

“That’s a very important thing, Professor, but I really don’t think you’d like me to run the story without any comment from you. It would be very bad for the labs, I’m afraid. Perhaps we could speak in general terms?”

“I’m not really involved in anything... sneaky, Miss Kent.  I’m just a researcher. When new technology is found by our teams - I’m never told where it comes from - it’s my job to integrate it into usable systems.  I have something unclassified I can show you, if you’d like a better understanding of my work.”

“Of course, Professor. I’m always happy to learn something new about robotics.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: Cate's date with Lex! Things move forward with Lois!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cate continues to make both bad and good decisions. Very bad, and very good.

“Welcome, Miss Kent, to the Experience.”  Alexis Luthor sat at a table under an enormous fish tank, lifting a bottle of wine that looked more expensive than the entire Kent farm and pouring two glasses while a full-grown manta ray swam above her.

The Experience was the single finest dining establishment in Metropolis.  Located at the top of Star Tower, it was a seafood restaurant specializing in exotic dishes.  The entire restaurant was surrounded and filled with a single huge aquarium that formed a honeycomb of corridors and chambers in which the tables were located.  Fish of all varieties swam in the tank, creating a massive palette of color and texture that surrounded the very, very wealthy diners.

Catherine had dressed for the night in a plain blue dress and a few understated bits of gold jewelry that looked more like a selection of family heirlooms than something bought together as a set, and her coal-dark hair was bound up in a twist that missed stylish by a fair margin. Same glasses, same nervous smile, same complete lack of make-up... even if she did take a moment let her eyes wander the tanks with more than a little wonder creeping across her face. She was, without question, the least flashy and colorful creature within three floors. 

She did not, however, seem the least bit intimidated. “Thank you for inviting me, Miss Luthor. This is an amazing place.”

“There are fewer than six hundred people in the nation who can afford a meal here on a month’s pay, Miss Kent.  One hundred fifty of those people live in either Metropolis or Gotham. The Experience claims one hundred twenty-eight of the local residents as regular customers.  When money is no issue, there is nowhere that offers better food or better service than this restaurant.” Alexis smiled as a waitress pulled Catherine’s chair out for her.  “I decided that, at least once, you deserved to try it. You have managed to be a thorn in my side effectively enough that, even if your work does not pay what your mind obviously deserves, you should have a chance to sample what the brilliant enjoy.”

“If you’re ever in Smallville, Miss Luthor, I’ll sit you down to a meal of my mother’s cooking.  Then you can sample the sort of meal plain, good people enjoy - it would do you good.” Catherine seated herself carefully and gave the waitress a warm smile. “Thank you very much.” 

“If I ever find myself in Smallville - which I plan not to - I will take you up on your offer.”  Alexis leaned forward to pour a glass of wine for Catherine. “I believe Miss Lane once wrote an entire article about your mother’s cooking, and praised it quite highly.”

“Lois had never had a home-cooked meal in her life.” Catherine carefully picked up her water and sipped it, ignoring the wine for the moment. “She was overdue. Did you have many home cooked meals growing up, Miss Luthor?”

“Not in the manner you are thinking, Miss Kent.  My mother’s cooking consisted largely of finding ways to make two cans of cheap pasta feed three people without adding to the cost.”  Alexis sipped her wine slowly. “I was glad to be rid of it.”

Catherine looked down, a sudden flush on her cheeks, and after a long moment she reached up and took the wine from the table to sip it slowly. It took her almost another minute to look up and fix Alexis with eyes that were so full of empathetic apology it almost hurt to look into them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know, and it was stupid and cruel of me to presume.”

“No.  You live based on your experiences, and deduce the experiences of others based on what you know.  The usual portrayal of me - ‘the ruthless corporate executive of Lexcorp, wealthiest woman in Metropolis, enemy of Superwoman, and mad genius’ - doesn’t leave much room for my childhood.  It is also far more accurate an idea of what I am now than what people would draw if they knew my history.” Alexis lifted her menu, glancing over it for a moment. “Nothing new... a shame.  The problem of being the only business in your demographic is that you have no competition driving you to improve. Perhaps I should open a competing restaurant... at any rate, Miss Kent, you can hardly be blamed for assuming.  Before I did my research into you, I expected your parents would be similar to my mother - hard-working, desperate, and without any idea why all her work availed her nearly nothing in spite of having all the information needed to understand it.  In other words, good-hearted fools.”

“There’s a lot to be said for being good-hearted and foolish. It’s better than being cold-hearted and wise.” 

“I don’t know.  Cold-hearted wisdom has worked for me.”  Alexis smiled, almost kindly. “I was rather surprised by what I learned of your parents - they are not fools.  They think small, but the world needs those who do that - if every capable person sought the highest places, things would be quite unpleasant.  Instead, they know what they want - peace, quiet, productivity, a level of humble comfort, a daughter who both shares the best of their values and is able to be an effective member of her own generation - and have pursued that goal as effectively as I have pursued my own goals.  They are admirable people, and perhaps examples of the best of humanity.”

“Thank you.” Catherine flushed lightly, a surprised little smile full of warmth stealing onto her face, and she took another slow sip of her wine. “I’ve always been very, very proud to call them my parents.”

“You should be.”  Alexis gestured to Catherine’s menu.  “If you’ve never had calamari before, you will want to try one of their calamari dishes.  The chef here is considered to be the second-best preparer of squid in the world, after a man who is in the permanent employ of the King of Jordan.”

“All right.” Catherine glanced down at the menu again, then extended it back across the table with a small smile. “I can’t understand half the items on there. I put my life in your hands, Miss Luthor.”

The smile that crossed Alexis’s face was engagingly sinister.  “Do you, then, Miss Kent? The first three items in the calamari section are all pasta dishes, and all of them are excellent.  Tell me... do you have any questions you would like to ask me?”

“Hundreds. I thought I might wait until we’d started eating - it seemed rude to ambush you while you were still ordering.” Catherine flushed lightly at that smile, taking a longer swallow of her wine.  _ Rao help me, that woman is a shark. I should  _ not _ be thinking about how good she would feel against my mouth. _

“Very well.”  As if to accent Catherine’s thought, as Alexis put her menu aside, a large hammerhead shark settled to the base of the aquarium behind her, lazily gazing at Catherine with wide-set eyes.  “If you have chosen, I will summon the server.”

“Yes. That might be good.” Catherine found herself slowly licking her lips, a tight knot of heat clawing at her stomach, and she tried not to look too obviously from the shark to Alexis.

Alexis lifted her hand to signal the waitress, then spoke her entire order in Italian.  The waitress nodded before turning to Catherine. “And what will you have?”

Catherine took a deep breath, still flushed, and found a smile she didn’t quite understand on her face. “Miss Luthor will be ordering for me, as well.”  _ Now why did I say that? _

The expression on Alexis’s face resembled that of the shark’s in ways Catherine would not have expected to be humanly possible - or nearly so attractive - and she spoke a few more words of Italian to the waitress.  As the waitress left, Alexis smirked. “You’re going to enjoy your evening, Miss Kent.”

“Ah.” Catherine couldn’t quite find a way to answer that which didn’t come out in her head sounding like an invitation, so she gave up and reached for the small recorder in her purse instead. “Do you have any comment on the recent effort at nuclear disarmament, Miss Luthor, particularly the major reductions in missile numbers being contemplated?”

“I am of a mixed opinion.  On the one hand, I can think of far better things to do with plutonium than missiles that the various nations of Earth - including the, to be frank, foolish madmen currently running India and Pakistan - have a habit of pointing at one another.  If I could entirely disarm every nation apart from the United States, Russia, and Israel, I would do so. However, on the other hand, what happens when Brainiac descends on the planet with kryptonite-powered nanobots and opens his strike with an EMP attack on the Justice League’s Watchtower?  The combined nuclear armament of the three nations I would allow to keep weapons is currently strong enough to disable the shields of either Brainiac’s mothership or three Apokalyptan battlecruisers. After disarmament? I am uncertain if that would remain the case. Given the fact that the nations that cannot be trusted with nuclear arms will only reduce their stockpiles if the nations that can be trusted reduce theirs, it becomes a question of which is more likely - a revolution in Pakistan that transfers control of its weapons to an Islamist nationalist who will target the secularist Chinese regime, or a competently-arranged invasion from beyond the planet.  My personal prejudices favor the second, but I have to admit that, from a rational standpoint, I remain unconvinced.”

“How interesting.”  _ And paranoid. Which shouldn’t sound nearly as reasonable as it does, dammit.  _ Catherine drew in a slow breath, then leaned forward and drove in a real thrust. “On the topic of contemporary issues, would you comment on the recent allegations that Lexcorp mobile phones upload an audio and digital log of their activities to the Lexcorp mainframe on an ongoing basis, and that the encryption on that database is not double-blind as was originally suggested to the press - that, in fact, someone with your permission or working for Lexcorp could readily index, analyze and search that information?”

“The accusations are made entirely without evidence.  I know this because the mechanism by which Lexcorp is accused of gathering the data is impossible - any server organized in that way, with that much data coming through, would be overwhelmed so quickly that, to a human eye, it would appear instantaneous.  However, I will add that a stopped clock is right twice a day. Due to security concerns, the data that is gathered can be decrypted serverside. Doing so requires a voiceprint and password, and only three people in the company are authorized to decrypt the data - myself, Mercy, and Doctor Bright, who created the system originally.  A text message is sent to the user immediately, from our servers, with a special flag to inform them that their history has been accessed. I will also personally guarantee that there are only two situations in which the information will be accessed.”

“Which are?” Catherine leaned forward, her eyes intent, and she had to admit there was no hint of a lie in Alexis’s pulse or the dilation of her eyes - not a certain guarantee of truth, but a strong argument for it.  _ Kryptonian or Apokalyptan technology would allow for a server that powerful... but she likely wouldn’t waste it on something like this. Still, it was worth following up. _

“The first is if it were required for law enforcement reasons - if records were requested by a court, or if the owner of the device were missing and the police asked for help locating them.  Knowing a person’s travel history can help the police locate where they were taken, an important step in locating the missing person. The second reason is protection of our own corporate secrets - if Lexcorp suspects that someone has committed corporate espionage against us, we will use all resources at our disposal to determine the truth.  Before you ask your inevitable follow-up question, Miss Kent... if a method will help us locate a spy and is not irrefutably illegal, the answer is yes.”

“Or if it will help you find - or find out about - Superwoman?” Catherine stood - well, sat - her ground. 

“Superwoman is not a corporate concern, Miss Kent - she is a personal concern.  If I had my way, she would be a national security concern, but alas the President does not agree.  When I take action against Superwoman, that action is funded through my personal wealth. If it uses Lexcorp technology, that is simply because, as the owner of Lexcorp, I have access to the company’s patents and methods.  I purchase the equipment at the same price the government pays for it, and if a resource cannot be purchased from the company, it will go unused in my battles with the alien.”

“You mean that.” Catherine found herself, almost against her will, surprised and.... impressed.  _ Impressed. By the lunatic who wants to kill me. Rao, what’s wrong with me? _ “Alexis Luthor actually has a scruple?”

“My company is my legacy, Miss Kent.  It is also meant to be a shining beacon to humanity - a pillar of hope, saying, ‘This is what we can do.’  I want to show the peak of human potential, and I believe that doing so will be a more lasting victory against the aliens - both the directly confrontational like Darkseid and Brainiac and the more apparently benign like Superwoman and the Martian - than any act of violence I could ever dream of.  I will not risk losing that work to an overzealous federal regulator.”

_ Rao.  _ Catherine found herself nodding slowly, caught in the sharp passion of Alexis’s voice and the icily clear logic behind it. “I see. Once again I owe you an apology for misunderstanding you, Miss Luthor - I’m afraid it’s becoming something of an unfortunate recurring pattern.”

“As odd as it might seem, Miss Kent, I do not hate Superwoman.  In moments of passion, when she has torn down my work and set me back years and won the acclaim of the people in the process, I  _ think _ I hate her, but I do not.  My opinion of her motivations is... intricate.  In simple terms, I expect that she acts with the best of intentions, but her power is so great that it is not possible to have keeping her around be worth the risk of those intentions changing, and no one can be pure or righteous enough to be certain that their desires tomorrow will be the same as their desires today.  However, it is not the risk of her turning bad and burning Metropolis with her eyes before freezing Washington with her breath and hurling Tokyo into the sea that has most convinced me she is bad for humanity.” Alexis finished her wine and poured another glass.

“Then what?” Catherine leaned forward, forgetting her tape and her interview and finally pouring out the question that had been aching in her chest for years. “What is it about her that drives you to cause so much pain and destruction and death?”

“She makes us  _ weak _ .”  Alexis set her glass aside, tightening her hand enough that, had she not set the glass down, she would have shattered it.  “This is our planet, Miss Kent. Ours to keep, ours to protect, ours to defend. We lean on her like a crutch, when we should be  _ running _ , and our legs atrophy from disuse.  Myself, your parents, Barbara Wayne... we are symbols of the strength of humanity, all seen in different ways.  Superwoman floats above that globe at the top of your office, arms folded under her breasts, cape and hair blowing in the wind, gazing up at the sky, the shining beacon of humanity’s helplessness, its weakness.”

_ Rao. Rao, help me, but that’s the thing I’m most afraid of. That’s the thing that keeps me staring at the ceiling at night, listening to the world screaming for help around me. That’s exactly why I can’t do everything, be everywhere... why I have to let so many people die so painfully because if I try to do everything, be everything,  _ stop _ everything then they’ll just wilt and die... if I don’t go mad enough to think I ought to organize everything first.  _ Catherine’s face was unreadable, only a hint of surprise on her face, but her heart bled delicate drops of crimson agony through her chest.  _ Oh Rao, Lex,  but all your death machines could never hurt me like this. _ “Maybe...” she forced in a breath, voice a quiet whisper that slowly gathered strength as it went. “Maybe she isn’t trying to make us helpless, but inspire us. Help us to make ourselves better, and stronger, so eventually we won’t need her anymore. There’s nothing wrong with a neighbor who wants to give you a hand out of the mud.”

“There is if we forget that we can pull ourselves up.”  Alexis’s hand relaxed, and she reached for her wine again.  “When I asked Senator McNeil why he said he wasn’t worried about alien invasion when he expressed his support for the disarmament initiative, he said, ‘We don’t need those weapons.  The Justice League is up there, and Superwoman can keep Earth safe.’ Miss Kent... I am aware that there are things out there, in the sky, that we are not ready for. But if we lean on Superwoman and the Martian and the technology those Guardians give their play space police, how can we ever become ready?  Perhaps... perhaps my battles against Superwoman are valuable, even if I never win them, because I hurt her. Because, when Miss Lane and the other reporters flock to her, they see the cuts on her face and the burns in her uniform, and those pictures remind Earth that she can be hurt. That it is possible that  _ something _ will be too much for her, and we need to grow to be able to overcome it.”

There were tears in Catherine’s eyes now, and she couldn’t stop them - hiding them was pointless, absurd when this woman could see through her in a heartbeat. Her heart thundered painfully in her chest, and she found herself fumbling with her glasses as she tried to wipe her eyes.  _ Rao, she’s beautiful. She’s terrible and beautiful and brilliant, and she’s right even in being so terribly wrong, and I don’t know what I’m going to do now because I’m dying to kiss her and throw myself at her feet and beg forgiveness - from  _ her _. From the most terrible creature I’ve ever met in human form. Oh Rao, help me, I’m losing my mind.  _ “Alexis.” The word came out raw, rough with a thousand tangled emotions, and she couldn’t lift her eyes. Couldn’t look into those burning green orbs without the risk that she would crumble entirely. “Alexis....”

“You should eat your dinner, Miss Kent.  Afterward, I intend to ask you to my apartment.”  Alexis began to eat, surprisingly calm given both the revelation of her vision of her relationship with Superwoman and that of her plans for the evening.  “I hope you will accept the invitation.”

“Yes.” Catherine’s eyes came up of their own volition, fixing on Alexis’s, and her voice nearly broke as she whispered the words through a few straggling tears. “I accept, Alexis.”

“Thank you.  Enjoy your meal.”  Alexis fell silent, eating quickly and passionately.

Catherine’s eyes never really left hers: not for the rest of the meal, not on the elevator ride down to the street, not once they were in the expensive black company sedan that was waiting for them there. Not on the even longer elevator ride up to Alexis Luthor’s apartment. 

“Here we are.”  Alexis stepped from the elevator, directly into an apartment that consumed the entire sixty-eighth floor of the Lexcorp headquarters.  The apartment held every luxury, but its level of cleanliness was schizophrenic - a coffee table dusted to a shine clean enough to perform surgery on near a small stand covered in haphazardly-strewn papers and unidentifiable but undeniably advanced technology.

Catherine followed her, almost drifting on her feet - she couldn’t quite get her breath back, and her cheeks felt as though they were on fire.  _ I haven’t felt like this since the first time I burned a hole in the ceiling of the house by staring at it..... _

Then she was against the wall, Alexis’s hands on her, grasping with confident firmness at her skin, nails digging in against her flesh as bright green eyes sparked with inhuman desire.  Alexis dipped her head down, teeth pressing firmly to Catherine’s throat as a low growl rose from Alexis’s chest.

Catherine whimpered down in her throat, arching her head back and offering her slim, strong body to Alexis’s hands. It didn’t - couldn’t - hurt but she felt the edge of the sensation and reacted to it with a taut pleading urgency that ripped out of her in spite of anything resembling sense or sanity. She had never in her life felt this... this sinking, shuddering sense of submission. That was the only word she could find for it, and it dragged another strangled moan out of her.

Alexis felt that moan in her bones, felt Catherine’s surrender, and fed on it, wrestling her to the floor and tearing at her dress, shredding it in the process of removing it before digging nails and teeth into the reporter’s breasts and shoulders with savage possessiveness.

_Yours!_ _Rao, Alexis, tonight I’m yours. I can’t I won’t I don’t know how to fight you, brilliant and dark and terrible and shining. I can’t... I’m... oh Rao...._ Catherine writhed, stripped and helpless, dark hair spilling around her face in escaping strands, her glasses askew on her face and her voice spilling out of her in a wild pleading tumble of which only some of the words were even understandable. “Alexis! …. Alexis.... I’m sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry... Alexis!”

Alexis’s touches were cruel and wicked and perfect, all sharp edges and power and confidence.  Her eyes knew that Catherine was hers, was taken, had surrendered entirely, and that surrender elicited perhaps the only act of mercy in Alexis’s adult life.  “Shh... don’t talk. Just feel.” Then she claimed Catherine fully, violently, passionately.

Catherine did the only thing she could do - she obeyed. No more words, only sounds - wild, pleading, needful, desperate sounds. Sounds that begged forgiveness, punishment, that promised the sun and moon and stars, that shook with shame and heat and blazing pleasure so intense that it sounded like pain. She gave herself into Alexis’ hands like a penitent to her tormentors, and her whole body trembled in shattered joy.

Alexis kept Catherine for hours, there on the floor of her apartment, never slowing, never seeming to tire, never allowing a moment for thought or debate or anything but raw, primal emotion and desire.  Never allowing her to move from her place, there, trapped under Alexis’s body and will and ruthless desire.

Then... it was done.  The finish was sudden, though the way Alexis’s teeth gripped Catherine’s skin that last time kept it from being startling - it was simply a fact, much as the motion of the Earth was a fact.  Alexis settled in against Catherine, making no move to embrace her, simply relaxing - as much as she ever relaxed, at any rate - in the undeniably pleasant warmth of another woman’s body. Catherine, trembling and undone, could only wrap her arms softly around her captor and cling to her as if she were the foundations of the world.

“You are an interesting woman, Miss Kent.”  Alexis rolled onto her side, her head resting against Catherine’s breasts lightly.  “An exceptional lover... I may invite you here one time more, some day. Regardless of whether or not I do that, I expect you will begin to hear from me more often.”

“If you want, Alexis.” Catherine’s voice was soft, trembling - a sea of molten metal that hadn’t yet begun to solidify back into steel. “I can’t imagine refusing such an invitation.”

“If I were in the habit of forming long-term romantic entanglements, I would consider you a prime candidate.  However... I am not, and if I were to make an exception, it would end painfully for both of us. You may stay the night if you wish... I would enjoy your company.”

“Part of the night.” Catherine’s lips touched Alexis’s hair softly, her voice a whisper. “I ought to file before morning.”  _ End painfully. Yes, I suppose a break-up involving guided kryptonite bombs and killer robots would be painful. _ “I don’t... love you. I couldn’t. You do things that are terrible, and wrong, and I could never love someone who did them.” Her breath caught hard in her throat, and what came out of her was a whisper heavy with smoke and fire. “I want you more than I can imagine ignoring.”

“I can accept that.”  Alexis tilted her head back, offering Catherine a surprisingly gentle kiss.  “Come to bed with me, then, Catherine Kent.”

“As you wish, Miss Luthor.” Catherine’s voice had just a hint of playful heat to it, though her lips stung with the gentle softness of that kiss, and she let herself be led to bed by her mortal enemy with a long hot shiver that rolled through her from scalp to toes.

 

* * *

 

Catherine Kent stopped at the door to the hallway, adjusted her skirt and her glasses, and squared up her shoulders with a little more dignity than she usually allowed herself. It was dangerous - to the mask she was wearing, to everything - but being a mouse wasn’t going to get her through the night.  _ One chance. Just one. I’m going to get it right. _ She took a slow breath in, then rapped at Lois Lane’s door. 

It took about two minutes for Lois to get to the door, but the moment when she opened it made those minutes worthwhile - that black dress was likely illegal in most of the Deep South, hugging her body just perfectly, and the effect was enhanced by the fact that she was obviously not completely ready yet - she was still tugging one heeled shoe on when she gave Catherine a smile of greeting, and her hair was damp, still unbrushed, and refreshingly honest.  “Hey... sorry I’m not ready yet. Perry called me as I was about to get in the shower.”

“I know how deadlines go, remember?” Catherine smiled and tugged at her hair, eyes warm and just a little heated. “You look amazing.”

“You look good too.”  Lois looked up, her voice picking up a note of surprise at realizing just how good.  “Really good. Give me a minute to get my hair brushed then we can go.”

“Thanks.” Catherine stepped through the door and looked around the room slowly, eyes probing everything automatically before she caught herself. She leaned up against the wall, brushing her hand over the black blazer and skirt she’d picked out to go with the soft blue of her blouse. The little white scarf she’d added brought out her skin, and it emphasized the way the blouse brought out the blue of her eyes. “Take your time, Lois.”

“I’ll only be a moment.”  Lois paused at the door to her bedroom to give Catherine one last looking-over before vanishing into the room, emerging about a minute and a half later with her hair properly brushed and tied back.  “How’s the weather? Will I want my coat?”

_ I honestly have no idea. I don’t feel... well, right now I feel warm, but that’s nothing to do with the weather.  _ She cleared her throat, tuning through radio stations until she found a weather report, then smiled. “It’s frisky. Light jacket, but the coat’s probably overkill.”

“All right.”  Lois opened her closet, pulling out a dark red jacket that, once zipped, did nothing to detract from what the dress did with her figure.  “Ready.”

_ Amazing. Rao, you look amazing.  _ Catherine smiled, a light flush on her cheeks, and offered Lois her arm. “Then let’s go, Miss Lane.”

Lois rested her hand on Catherine’s arm.  “Lead the way, Smallville.”

It wasn’t a long walk - just down to the curb to catch a cab, then across town to a blue-collar immigrant neighborhood where everything had that extra tidiness necessary to hold off cheap becoming shabby. Catherine caught the skeptical look on Lois’s face and gave her a reassuring smile that - surprisingly - actually was reassuring, and then helped her out of the cab and led her to the end of the block and a worn wooden door with the sign  _ Mandolin _ hung on it. Catherine opened the door, ducking the small shower of beads, and then the smell caught up to her - spices, rose oil, fresh chicken and beef sizzling in a kitchen close enough to the diners to taste in the air. An older man stepped out from behind the register and broke into a wide smile, opening his arms and embracing Catherine firmly. “My friend Kent! It is always good to see you. And I see you bring a friend - a good friend, yes? Perhaps more than friendly? Do not worry, we take good care of her - come, come, sit down.”

“Masaed - it’s good to see you, too.” Catherine kissed him on the cheek fondly, letting him settle them at a table near one of the candelabras and set them up with tea before bustling off to the kitchen. Then the shy smile was back - at Lois, the ask open in her eyes.  _ Will you like it, Lois? I know it’s not upscale - not like where I went with Alexis - but this is real. I love it here. Rao, I hope you like it. _

Lois let her eyes wander the room, noting the worn but well-kept wooden tables and the eclectic decor.  _ Not at all what I was expecting... but with Cate, maybe it should have been.  And the smells coming from the kitchen are exquisite. _  “I thought I knew this whole city, but I didn’t even know this place existed.”

“It’s kinda a hole in the wall, but... it’s amazing.” Catherine’s eyes shone softly. “I met Masaed while I was doing a story on the immigrant community - his daughter’s a bit of an activist - and they asked me over to his place for dinner. Best food I ever had in my life, including my mother’s. When his wife mentioned the restaurant... well, I’m here at least once a week.”

“If the food tastes half as good as it smells, I can see why.”  Lois began to browse the menu, her eyes occasionally flicking up and meeting Catherine’s.

Catherine smiled at her softly, eyes sparkling, and she reached out to touch Lois’s wrist with a little grin. “It’s... well, it’s ever so much better if you let him pick for you. If you don’t mind, he’ll just... feed us?”

“All right.”  Lois gave Catherine a hesitant look, but put her menu down.  “I’ll trust you, then, Catherine Kent.”

Catherine smiled, eyes warm, and she let her hand linger against Lois’s for a long moment before she finally released those soft fingers. “I’ve always tried to be someone you could trust, Lois.”

“That, you’ve always been.”  Lois felt a soft shiver go through her body at that touch, and there was a tiny look of reluctance when Catherine’s hand retreated.

“Well, at least that’s one thing.” Catherine’s lips twitched with a warm, faint humor. “I know I’m not exactly the most reliable woman in Metropolis, but... I try to make time for what’s important to me.”

“Am I really that important to you?”  Lois took a slow sip of her water, her gaze probing.

Catherine’s eyes met Lois’s, holding there tightly, and when she spoke it was with a steel in her voice that Lois had never heard there before - except, perhaps, when someone tried to rough Catherine Kent off a story she was set on. “You are. Absolutely.”

Lois reached across the table, grabbing Catherine’s hand and holding it fiercely, squeezing tightly enough that, were it possible for Lois to cause Catherine pain, it likely would.  And she whispered, “Thank you.”

“Lois....” Catherine wrapped her fingers around her partner’s, her friend’s, her beloved’s, and her dull blue eyes seemed to spark with a vivid life for a moment.  _ Tell her. Tell her right now.  _

Which was, quite naturally, the moment that Masaed’s younger daughter arrived with the plate of lamb skewers, roasted onions and fresh flatbread that was the first course of their meal.

“This looks delicious!”  Lois released Catherine’s hand, reaching for one of the skewers.  “Thank you for bringing me here, Cate.”

“Of... of course, Lois. I’d love to bring you here any time you’d like.”  _ Any time you’d let me. _ Catherine sat a moment, fingertips stroking the curve of her hand where Lois’s fingers had rested, before she could bring herself to pay attention to the fantastic meal. Fortunately, Masaed had excelled himself and even Lois Lane - ace reporter - seemed to be momentarily off the scent.

Lois devoted herself to the meal with uncharacteristic enthusiasm - usually, she was too busy with a dozen other thoughts to truly enjoy dining - and paused only to complement a particular dish or occasionally give Catherine an appreciative look.

Catherine followed her example, enjoying the meal, and when they were finally reduced to chasing the last vegetables about in the sauce she looked around and found herself smiling. “Metropolis is full of places like this - little jewels nobody knows about, wonders that nobody sees. People just aren’t looking, I guess.”

“People spend most of their lives not looking.  That’s why you and I have jobs.” Lois lifted her napkin, dabbing it against her lips lightly.  “That was the best food I’ve had in a very long time.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” Catherine’s smile was warm and bright. “Would you like to see something else? It’s a bit of a trip, but it’s one of my favorite places.”

“Sure.”  Lois smiled, offering her hand.  “For tonight, I am at your disposal.”

Catherine put some cash on the table, then stood up and reached for Lois’s hand with a warm smile. “At my disposal? Really?” Her eyes sparkled. “Dangerous idea, Lois.”

“I did say I trust you.”  Lois winked, letting her fingers curl around Catherine’s.

“So you did.” Catherine’s smile was a bright, alive thing and there wasn’t a hint of a blush on her cheeks. “Come on, then.”

It was a long-ish cab ride - almost an hour - and they drove all the way out through the suburbs before they finally stopped at the edge of a wide field dotted with oaks and poplars. Catherine paid the cabbie, opened the door, then walked around to open Lois’s and offer her hand. “Welcome to Sampson’s Field, Lois Lane.”

“It’s beautiful.”  Lois stepped from the cab, tightening her fingers around Catherine’s.

“When I first got here, I couldn’t stand being cooped up under the buildings all the time - farm girl habit, I guess. So I found this place on an old ordnance map, and I’ve been coming here ever since.” Catherine started out across the wide grassy expanse, her smile a bright spark in the gathering twilight. “It reminds me of home.”

“If this reminds you of home, I have to see your home some time.”  Lois smiled, walking with Catherine, holding her hand firmly and looking around with eager curiosity.

“I’ve tried to talk you into it a couple times. Getting Ma up to Metropolis to cook for you was the closest I’ve managed so far.” Catherine squeezed Lois’s hand tightly, looking up into the darkening sky to pick out the first bright pinpricks of stars. “I think you said something about ‘not having time for the Middle of Nowhere, Kansas.’”

“Here’s Lois Lane, admitting she was wrong.”  Lois turned her head toward Catherine with a smile.

Catherine stopped in the middle of the field, turning Lois into a half-embrace and looking down at her. “I could get used to that, but it would probably signal the end of the world if it happened more than once in a day.”

“Most likely.”  Lois slipped into the embrace with a soft smile, murmuring, “I was wondering when you’d get around to this.”

Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise, and her voice dropped slightly into a warmer and deeper octave. “I didn’t think you knew.”

“You’re not exactly subtle, Smallville.”  Lois smiled, tilting her head back to meet Catherine’s eyes.

“You can be a little overwhelming, Miss Lane.” Catherine took a slow breath in, letting it out, then opened her eyes again to look down into Lois’s deeply. “I’m in love with you. I think I have been from the moment you stormed out of Perry’s office and yelled at me for getting your story.”

“That was a good moment for me, wasn’t it?”  Lois grinned, then her face turned more serious.  “You’re a wonderful girl, Cate, and you’ve always been great to me.  Are you sure I’m what you want? You know me... no matter what relationship I’m in, or who it’s with, it will always be second to my work.”

“I know how that is, Lois.” Catherine’s hand slid up to cup her face, a softer smile on those plain lips. “You’re everything in the world that I want, and I wouldn’t change a thing about you. Well... maybe your housekeeping, but nothing else.”

“In that case, Smallville, why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

“Because I’m an idiot.” Catherine bent down and kissed her, slowly and deeply and tenderly, and her heart sang like the throb of the sun.

Lois slid her arms around Catherine’s neck, drawing her in and returning the kiss fervently.

Some time later - some time after the stars had begun to shine overhead - Catherine finally lifted her lips from Lois’s and squeezed the smaller woman tight in her arms, feeling the grass under her knees. “That... was everything I’ve wanted for so damn long.”

“Do they teach a girl to kiss like that out on the farm?  Because if so, I’m going to start recommending that everyone spend a few years in Kansas.”  Lois smiled wryly, resting her head against Catherine’s shoulder, murmuring, “That was incredible.”

“No... I’m pretty sure not. I kissed a couple of girls in Kansas, and it was nothing like that.” Catherine’s arms squeezed tightly around Lois, and her lips brushed the curve of that soft neck. “You’re something special, Lois Lane.”

Lois breathed out softly at that kiss.  “You too, Catherine Kent.”

Catherine’s murmur against Lois’s ear was warm with heat. “It’s cold out here at night. I could... warm you up?”

“That sounds nice...”  Lois brushed her lips against Catherine’s collar lightly.

Catherine gently half-lifted, half-lowered Lois to the ground, curling against her and brushing soft, warm lips against the neck of her … girlfriend? Lover? She buried a soft laugh in Lois’s collarbone, arms squeezing around her with gentle tightness.

“Out here, in a field?  You  _ are _ more bold than I expected.”  Lois’s hands gently untied Catherine’s scarf, drawing it away from her neck.

“Desperate.” Catherine’s voice husked over Lois’s skin as she kissed down along the edge of the dress’s strap, her eyes half-closed as her hands slowly moved over Lois’s body. “Just desperate. You make me that way.”

Lois’s shoulders lifted from the grass, the straps starting to slip away as she began to work at the buttons of Catherine’s blouse.  “So if this becomes a regular thing, should I not expect any more rolls in the grass?”

“Would you like them?” Catherine’s smile flashed in the half-dark as the blouse slid open, her breasts - rather more of them than Lois had expected - brushing Lois’s hands through her bra as her own hands slid up across the smoothness of Lois’s thighs.

Lois gasped at the touch, her legs parting.  “Yes... yes, I think I would.” She pushed Catherine’s blouse off her shoulders, letting her fingers marvel at her new lover’s breasts.

Catherine’s eyes sparked behind her glasses, and firm hands gently parted Lois’s thighs and eased her panties aside to press three fingers deeply into that soft heat. “Then rolls in the grass it is, Lois.”

Lois released a cry of ecstasy, her body rising from the ground, her hands tensing, tightening around Catherine’s breasts, her eyes widening.  “God, Cate...”

“Easy, Lois. Easy...” Cate’s eyes shone brightly, and her fingers moved deep in Lois with surprisingly easy skill. She was certainly stronger and more assured than she  _ looked _ , and that was a fact.

Lois’s hands loosened, and she lightly stroked Catherine’s breasts as her hips rose into each motion.  “God, Cate... you’re good...”

A little grin tugged the edge of Catherine’s mouth, and her fingers curled deep with just a bit of a twist. “I hope so. You deserve the best, Lois.”

That move got another cry from Lois, her head thrown back and her eyes closing as pleasure rushed through her.  When her eyes opened again, she was looking at Catherine with a raw, undeniable heat.

“Oh.” Catherine’s voice caught in her throat, her eyes gleaming behind those dulling glasses. “Lois... you’re beautiful. You’re so very, very beautiful.”

Lois’s hand tangled itself in Catherine’s hair, and she pulled her lover down to kiss her, long and deep and with a heat that could ignite stars, her hips arching upward in eager passion.

Catherine basked in that heat, her own body warm and strong against Lois’s, her fingers stroking deeply and her mouth sliding slowly along Lois’s pulse. “Darling...”

Lois’s body arched, hard, and she tightened around Catherine’s fingers, murmuring into her ear, “Cate, Cate, Cate, god Cate....”

“I’ve got you, Lois.” Catherine held her down, held her tightly, like she was never going to let her go. “Just let go and fly for me.”

Lois did just that - fire rushing through her body as she shook and cried out under Catherine, her eyes wide with raw pleasure, her hands gripping her lover’s clothing and skin.

Catherine held her firm, kissing her deeply, drinking in that last hot cry of pleasure. “Lois.”

“Cate...”  Lois shook softly, wrapping her arms around Catherine as aftershocks burst through her.  “Cate.”

“I’ve got you.” Catherine’s lips caressed her forehead, her cheeks, her hair. “I’m here, and I’ve got you.”

Lois leaned up to kiss Catherine deeply.  “God... why did I wait so long before accepting a date with you again?”

Catherine kissed her deeply, lingeringly, voice a softly teasing murmur. “I always suspected you were holding out for you-know-who.”

“Mmm... pretty sure you’re better.”  Lois laid back, her eyes closed, her hair tousled in a way surprisingly reminiscent of the beginning of their evening.

“I know better than to start  _ that _ competition.” Catherine laughed gently, kissing the soft arch of Lois’s throat and savoring the sound of her pulse. “I’m just glad you’re here with me.”

“Glad to be here.”  Lois arched her head back.  “My place or yours, tonight?”

“My place. Yours is a disaster - but a very cute disaster.” Catherine’s eyes sparkled with laughter. “Unless you want to sleep out here?”

“Tempting, but we both have work in the morning.  I doubt Perry would approve of grass stains and dew on his top reporters.”  Lois pressed another kiss to Catherine’s lips. “God, you’re gorgeous. I want to get you into a bed where I can have a light on and just drink you in.”

Catherine’s cheeks flushed, and her eyes shone. “You think so?” 

“I do.”  Lois slowly rose to a sitting position, searching for Catherine’s blouse.  “Where did I put that...?”

“Behind you.” Catherine chuckled softly, getting up onto her feet, and straightening her skirt. “I... can’t possibly tell you how happy I am, Lois.”

Lois reached behind her for the blouse, pushing herself to her feet and stepping in to slip it onto Catherine.  “Good night for Miss Kent, then?”

“The best in the world. “ Catherine’s eyes shone down at her. “Thank you, Miss Lane. I love you.”

“Take me home, Smallville...”  Lois bent over to retrieve Catherine’s scarf, wrapping it around her own neck with a grin.  “So I can make your night even better.”


	3. Chapter 3

The Invincible Kid lay shattered on the pavement, his bones knitting themselves back together from Superwoman’s last punch - a level of power that was required to slow him down at all.  The last of whatever chemical or energy had empowered him was expended in mending his body to the point that he could be safely put onto a stretcher, and as the paramedics collected him, his heart slowed to the normal beat of an unpowered human.  Lois stood next to Superwoman, staring after the ambulance as it pulled away. “He actually managed to hurt you, didn’t he? How did he do that?”

“A very, very good question.” Superwoman wiped the blood from her split lip and swept her eyes over the city, taking in the damage - thankfully little, considering. “One I plan to investigate personally once this clean-up is done. Are you well, Miss Lane?”

“A few scrapes... I had to dive to the ground a bit faster than usual when he started shooting lasers out of his hands.  Or was that plasma? It’s hard to keep track, these days...” Lois rubbed a bruised arm lightly. “Cate’s going to ask me how I got these bruises...”

“Someone close to you, Miss Lane?” Superwoman gave her a maternally knowing smile that somehow still managed to be sexy.

“Catherine Kent.  You know her...” Lois knelt where the Invincible Kid had fallen, retrieving a small vial from her pocket and swabbing some blood into it.  “I know someone in the crime lab... might be able to find something from this.”

“Thank you, Miss Lane. You know how to let me know, if you do find something. My compliments to Miss... Kent, was it?” Superwoman rose slowly into the air, eyes already sweeping the city. “Excuse me - I need to go help the fire teams.” And then, just like that, gone again. 

“... And I don’t know why I even bother trying to explain things.”  Lois pocketed the vial, watching the sky where Superwoman had just vanished.

She made it most of the way off the roof when a flash of blue and red appeared behind her again. “I didn’t actually intend to be rude, Miss Lane. You were saying?”

“You are impossible.”  Lois shook her head, opening the roof access door.  “I’m dating Catherine Kent now. Odd as it might sound, I’m pretty sure it’s serious.”

“I believe impossible is very nearly exactly what I am, Miss Lane. I’m.... glad to hear that you’ve found someone.” A pause, and then a subtle hint of laughter in her voice. “I suppose we will have to have fewer late night interviews, now.”

“I don’t know.  Maybe Cate and I could work out one of those lists of allowed celebrities that some couples apparently have.”  Lois winked. “I’m happy, Superwoman. Really, really happy.”

“Then I am happy for you, Miss Lane.” Superwoman’s smile might almost have been sad, except for the warm honesty of it. “Everyone ought to find someone who makes them happy, eventually.”

“Thank you, Superwoman.”  Lois leaned up to kiss the heroine’s cheek.  “Thank you. I’ll call when I get the lab results.”

“I know you will.” The Last Daughter of Krypton returned that kiss lightly, a warm breath of sunlight against Lois’s cheek, and then she was gone into the sky in a flicker.

 

* * *

 

“As you can see, our robotics subsidiaries are in fact drawing a profit  _ now _ , a full twenty months sooner than the moment I promised profitability.  Your concerns are entirely... one moment.” Alexis Luthor turned away from her shareholders and walked to the window, where Superwoman hovered silently.  Unlatching the tall, shatterproof glass window, she pulled it open, letting the winds that constantly moved through the atmosphere at this height whip through the room and send the shareholders’ files flying chaotically about the room.  “This is a private meeting, where corporate secrets will be discussed. There are reasons this room is fully soundproof. If you want an appointment with me, Superwoman, you can do the same thing everyone else does and speak with Mercy.”

“We are going to speak now, Luthor.” Superwoman’s voice rolled through the room like a crack of thunder, her eyes almost glowing with vividly blue intensity. “In front of your shareholders or otherwise.”

“Hmph.  Go up to my office; you can open the window to the antechamber from the outside and I’ll have Mercy let you into the office itself.  I’ll be done here in... ten minutes, I think... and we can talk then.” Alexis smirked. “Unless you want to continue engaging in acts of corporate espionage and violations of confidentiality protections, and maybe add a trespassing charge?  There’s one thing I can entirely assure you of, Superwoman - my lawyers are better than yours.”

“Perhaps I did not make myself clear, Luthor.” Kaer Jor-El stepped forward onto the edge of the sill and her presence filled the room fiercely enough to drive most of the shareholders from their seats with the weight of her anger. “We will speak  _ now. _ Or do you think I care about your lawyers when you’ve manipulated, experimented on and abused a child?”

“Ah, yes.   _ That. _ ”  Alexis turned to her shareholders.  “We’ll continue this tomorrow.” As they hastily fled the room, she closed the window.  “Alejandro Pinkles. Sixteen years old. Emancipated minor, orphan. Initial test subject for the Humanity Project.  Fluent speaker of English as well as his native Spanish, entirely capable of reading and comprehending the waiver which he signed - and I had my lawyer go over it in quite a bit of detail with him.  He also passed every single background check and psychological profile we subjected him to - which was quite a number, I assure you. If this story becomes public, I intend to fully disclose that information to the press, because hiding it cannot possibly hurt me.  What I did not know is that everything he told me, everything public and private records told me, all of it, consisted of lies. It wasn’t the boy who was manipulated, Superwoman. It was me - and that isn’t something I confess to lightly.”

She listened - listened as hard as she ever had to anything in her life - for the lie. For the flutter of pulse or the shift of breath that would tell her the least part of Alexis’s words were untrue. It didn’t come, and her hands flexed slowly until the knuckles crackled. “You gave a sixteen year old orphan impossibly vast powers, and you think the fact that he  _ lied _ to you about what he would do with them and signed a piece of paper  _ excuses  _ that?”

“No, Superwoman.  The fact that I paid the boy half a million dollars for his participation doesn’t excuse it either.  Do you know what does? What is the  _ only _ thing that could?”  Alexis kicked her chair out from the table, spinning it around so she could sit while facing the Kryptonian.

Kaer said nothing, but her eyes burned.

“You.”  Alexis kept her gaze on those burning eyes - those eyes capable of destroying her with a glance, as easily as she herself would crush an ant underfoot.  “You and the Flash and all the rest, but you most of all. If it is possible to wield the sort of power you have responsibly - and you obviously believe that it is, and will get no argument from me - then it is not only my right to find a way to grant that power to humanity as a whole.  It is my  _ duty _ .  And it is not as if willing subjects for extensive genetic modification are a dime a dozen, Superwoman.  The only thing I regret is not seeing through the lies - not seeing that the boy who called himself Alejandro Pinkles had another employer before me, one who could hide the truth of who he was from me.”

“Your  _ duty. _ ” There was something different in those blue eyes now - something almost like contempt, soaking through the anger. “Your duty could have killed a child today, Alexis Luthor. It damaged a hundred and thirteen homes, killed three citizens of Metropolis and left almost a hundred injured. More than fifty homeless. If you think your ‘Manifest Destiny’ for humanity is worth that kind of pain and loss, then you aren’t even human yourself.”

“Tell me, Kryptonian, how many homes were lost when you slammed Doomsday through that apartment complex two years ago.”  Alexis breathed in slowly. “I don’t know who the boy was working for, but I know he was no innocent. Alejandro Pinkles - the real Alejandro Pinkles - has been dead for six months.  Strangled.”

“Seventy-three homes. Fourteen injured - one too severely for a full recovery.” Kaer’s voice ached with the memory. “He’s a child, Alexis. Just a child. How could you - any of you - do this to him?”

“He’s a murderer, or working for murderers.  For someone who should be able to see us from the outside, Superwoman, you have a remarkably idealistic view of what we are.”  Alexis folded her hands together. “There’s someone else looking into this... the photos of the real Alejandro were forwarded to me.  The envelope arrived anonymously, and went to my personal mailbox. I was, until this moment, under the impression that only myself, you, and Mercy even knew the box number for my personal mailbox.”

“Something else to look into.” Superwoman took a step back, and that searing contempt flooded back into her gaze as she looked down at Alexis. “I see and hear everything, Miss Luthor, and do you know what I hear most often? People struggling to do the right thing, to take care of each other, to be better than they thought they could be. You can try to comfort yourself by saying they’re all like you, but they aren’t - they’re better. I wish I’d been able to see that before.”

“Every single human death is a tragedy, Superwoman.  That is why I must continue my work, even if it brings deaths - because, in the long run, I will prevent more.  Now... I do not know who the boy was employed by, but I do have suspicions. Would you like to hear them, or do you consider my thoughts tainted enough by my actions that they aren’t worth your time?”

Kaer’s fingers flexed slowly, and then she nodded wordlessly.  _ Rao help me, at least today I don’t want her. At least today I can hold on to this moment. _

“There are two, maybe three non-government organizations in the world with the resources to fake a background well enough to fool a thorough Lexcorp check - and believe me when I say that we ran the most thorough one we could in this case.  I had no desire to empower a madman; this entire result has run counter to both my beliefs and my interests. If it wasn’t the American government - and if it was, then this is a larger problem than either of us wants it to be - then it is either the Special Operations Branch of Science Police, Waynetech, or Intergang.  I think it’s rather obvious which of those is most likely.”

“Intergang.” Kaer stalked to the window, opening it roughly, and then shot a cool glance over her shoulder. “If I believed in your logic, it would likely save the most lives if I evacuated your people and then tore this building and every one of your labs apart with my own hands.”

“Do you know what’s happening in Lab 4 right now, Superwoman?  The one with the four-foot lead-lined walls? Of course you don’t; you’ve likely never read a financial report in your life.”  Alexis folded her hands. “HIV vaccine. Two years from viability, on the outside. Which of us has saved more lives?”

“You have, by a factor of ten. And killed more than you’ve saved.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Kaer Jor-El.”  Alexis smiled, reaching for a folder. “I believe we are done here.”

“For now, Alexis. For now.” Then she was gone in a rush of wind.

 

* * *

 

The Lexcorp building shook with another explosion, and Booster Gold tumbled out one of the broken windows before plunging back in. Most of the civilians and scientists had been cleared out in the first minutes, but some were still trapped in isolated pockets inside and - in a rare sort of truce - the heroes of Metropolis and Lexcorp Security seemed to be working more or less side by side for the moment. 

“Could someone catch that fool and tell him that they have people inside?”  Alexis grumbled, finding herself uncharacteristically impotent to take any immediate action on the real problem, in large part because her personal physician was still in the process of finishing off a set of stitches on her left arm, where he’d just removed a rather sizable piece of glass.  “Intergang doesn’t hesitate to fire on the spandex crowd, and that ‘force field’ he’s always on about won’t stop a plasma blast.”

_ Booster - Intergang inside. Watch yourself.  _ Catherine hit send on the text while she made a show of taking notes and talking to the first responders, soaking in the facts for her article without spending more than a third of her attention on it.  _ I ought to be in there with them, helping them... ought to be, and can’t.  _

Alexis looked up, and her eyes brightened a tiny bit when she saw Catherine.  “Miss Kent... I assume you’ll want a statement, and I’m not good for much else right now.”

“A statement would be marvelous, Miss Luthor, if your doctor isn’t too busy.” In spite of herself, Catherine swept Alexis from head to toe with her x-ray vision to be sure there weren’t more serious injuries.  _ How can I still care about that, after what she did just a few days ago? _

“This attack is a heinous crime, and Lexcorp will devote every available resource to helping the police bring those who planned it to justice for the murder of at least eighteen of my staff and injuries to one hundred twenty-eight of our employees, sixteen visitors, and six bystanders.”  Alexis looked up, toward the smoke still pouring from the floor on which she’d been standing a mere six minutes ago. “And for any other deaths or injuries about which we do not yet know.”

“Do you have any idea who might be responsible, Miss Luthor?” Catherine moved to the edge of the sidewalk, setting her portable recorder down, and as the doctor stepped back she reached into the aid kit and took out a thick blanket to wrap across the tatters of the business suit clinging to Alexis’s shoulders.

“The bomb was Intergang technology, from the blast pattern.  Apokalyptan technology... null space field. If there’s anyone else on this planet who has any of those, I’ll shave my head.”  Alexis reached out of the blankets for Catherine’s hand, the single sign of her being shaken at all.

Catherine went to one knee and took Alexis’s hand in both of hers, holding it without letting her voice lose that business-like steadiness. “They went to a lot of trouble to hurt or kill you and your people, Miss Luthor. Why?”

“I don’t know, Miss Kent.  I have suspicions, but they’re largely without evidence.  But when whoever planned this is caught - and they  _ will _ be caught - I intend to find out.”  Alexis’s eyes remained on that smoke.  “At the moment, my security forces are doing everything in their power to prevent the invaders from damaging any of our medical or energy research or stealing any military technology.  Even with a raid this well-organized, their chances of getting out of that building with anything more advanced than what their alien sponsors will give them are minimal, which means the goal is likely to either find information or sabotage something.”

“Your security is very good, Alexis, and it has help. It’ll be fine.” Catherine squeezed her hand gently. “Just fine.”

“My security is the best money can buy, Miss Kent, and I’ve found money can buy the best.  As long as Mr. Gold doesn’t foul things up for them, every last Intergang member in my building will be dead or captive within the hour.”  Alexis’s eyes moved to the door. “Not that I don’t appreciate the help that the costumed crowd is giving... one Booster Gold can keep four of my guards alive through this operation.”

“He seems like a good man.”  _ A bit of an idiot, but a good man. _ “I don’t think anyone else needs to die today.”

“I sincerely hope not, Miss Kent.”  Alexis sighed. “I am not used to being powerless.  On a normal day, I speak a word and nations move, or diseases vanish from the Earth.”

“‘A little loss of power now and then does good things for our humility.’” At Alexis’s glance, Catherine smiled softly. “Superwoman told me that during an interview once. Seems like she ought to know.”

“I can see her saying that.”  Alexis smiled slightly. “I like to imagine she learned that lesson from me.”

“Possibly. I’ve honestly lost track.” Catherine shrugged and smiled softly. “She’s more Lois’s beat - crime and metahuman activity and social justice are my end of things.”

“Your piece on the orphans of Lower Gotham was excellent.  I read it four times... had two of my medical research teams read it as well.  It actually gave me an idea.” Alexis closed her eyes. “Invention comes from a need that must be met, and a mind focused and talented enough to meet that need.  You mentioned rampant vitamin deficiencies, most particular C and D. I have a team working on a genetic modification to corn that adds both those substances to it.  Corn is cheap to grow; food made with the new corn would help with those deficiencies.”

“And it isn’t going to turn out to be a hive-minded corn monster or something like that?” Catherine’s smile was invisible, but Alexis could hear it in the reporter’s voice. “Kansas is corn country, and it would be hard to explain to my mother.”

“We’re taking all possible precautions against the creation of a hive-minded monster, and chances of it happening are down below ten percent.  The insulin-producing dairy cows, on the other hand... you’ll likely want to avoid Wisconsin for about six months after their release.”

Catherine’s laugh was a warm, bright, sunny thing that washed across Alexis’s skin like a fine sea breeze and a perfect patch of sand to lie on. “I’ll take it under advisement, Miss Luthor.”

“You’ll want to be careful, Miss Kent... I understand that you are dating now, and if you keep making me laugh, I’ll want to do things your girlfriend won’t much like.”

“I’m dating, Miss Luthor, not married.” Catherine flashed a smile that felt entirely naughty on her lips, and her mind went wide-eyed with shock.  _ Did I just  _ say  _ that? _ “Besides, I’m sure I could put it down entirely to your overpowering charisma and brilliant mind.”

“You say the most wonderful things, Miss Kent.”  Alexis grinned, squeezing Catherine’s hand.

“Happy to be of service, Miss Luthor - just happy to be of service.” Catherine felt her cheeks heat as that last word left her lips, and the part of her mind busy informing her that she was behaving like a shameless hussy shut up for a moment in pure horror at the way her body twitched with that rush of warmth.   
  


“Perhaps I will give you a call, then, when I am in a situation where I can accept that service.”  Alexis squeezed Catherine’s hand, then, at the sight of her chief of security approaching, released it.  “I need to speak with him. I will see you later, Miss Kent.”

“As you wish, Miss Luthor.” Catherine rose from the pavement and straightened her skirt, then started back toward the gaggle of press without letting herself look back. 

She got about twenty feet. 

“Cate.”  Lois caught Catherine’s hand, drawing her to the side as she approached the other reporters.  “I was worried... Perry said you were covering a story at Lexcorp.”

“I was down in the lobby, getting checked in. I’m fine, Lois.” Catherine gave her girlfriend a warm smile and sternly told her body to ignore the slick heat between her legs. “Just a little dust in my hair, that’s all.”

“Good to hear.”  Lois kissed Catherine’s dusty cheek, squeezing her hand.  “I saw you talking to Miss Luthor.”

“She was a little shaken up - I think she was pretty close to the blast. Got a statement and some good quotes, though - something to run with for the early edition.” Catherine did her best to keep the blush out of her cheeks, with an unusual degree of success - for her.

“Got more than a statement, from the look on your face.”  Lois touched Catherine’s cheek softly. “Tell me you didn’t agree to anything.”

“No,” Catherine squeaked, “I didn’t agree to anything.”  _ It wasn’t agreement, it was more of an offer, and she just said she’d call... she didn’t say for what. Really. Exactly. Oh, Rao. _

“She really does a number on you, doesn’t she?”  Lois actually looked far more amused than annoyed.  “I admit, I can see it a bit... she’s certainly forceful.”

“Definitely forceful. And... brilliant.”  _ Rao, please don’t let me start babbling.  _ Catherine’s blush deepened, and she cleared her throat. “Lois, I would never....”  _ Sob on her floor begging for her touch?  _ “Never want to do anything to upset you.”

“How’s this... I’ll forgive you gushing about Alexis Luthor, and you forgive me getting a bit giddy over Superwoman?  Well, that, and...” Lois brushed a nail over Catherine’s jaw in a way that, for an instant, drew all thought away from Miss Luthor entirely.  “I know you’re coming home to me.”

“Always, Lois.” Catherine leaned into Lois’s arms and let her whole body tremble with a rush of desire that felt fresh and warm and completely clean. “I’ll always come home to you, and I could never hold... whatever happened with Superwoman against you.”

“Come here.”  Lois’s arms tightened around Catherine firmly, and she whispered into her girlfriend’s ear, “Besides, you’re adorable when you’re flustered.”

Catherine’s whisper was ever so slightly little-girl-lost, and it went very fetchingly with the warm red flush on her cheeks. “As long as you’re happy, Lois.”

“As I told Superwoman earlier... I am happy.   _ Very _ happy.”  Lois pressed her head to Catherine’s shoulder.

Catherine hid her smile in the dark silk of Lois’s hair. “Then God’s in his heaven and all’s right with the world.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end!

The couch in Catherine’s apartment was - like almost all of her furniture - old and extremely comfortable. It all matched, though never precisely, as though it had all been carved in the same middle-of-nowhere town over the course a few decades. It was even possible that most of it had been made by hand in some woodshop somewhere, though Lois wouldn’t have believed that to be exactly  _ likely. _ Maybe it was just something about Catherine Kent that made the deeply implausible seem possible. 

The old plastic-coated ceramic bowl into which the popcorn (from an old-fashioned air-popper, no less) had been deposited before being slathered with butter was comfortably out of place on the iron and glass coffee table on which the movies and sodas were liberally intermixing, and the old but respectably large television with its tangle of conversion cables (the ones needed to convince the old thing to talk to something as new-fangled as a DVD player) was playing yet another romantic comedy. In spite of Lois’s fervent demands, no action heroes or hard-boiled detectives were going to occupy Catherine’s evenings - she swore they gave her bad dreams, which was probably true. Probably.

“How long do you think you have before this old thing breaks?”  Lois gestured to the screen, only moving her arm as the rest of her was quite comfortable leaned into Catherine’s side.

“It broke last year, actually. I know a good repair-man down in East Central who got it working again in no time.” Catherine nuzzled against Lois’s hair, eyes still on the screen while she munched popcorn with one hand and held Lois tight with the other. She’d given up her slacks and skirts for jeans today, even if she did still insist on wearing a button-up shirt - she’d sworn she didn’t own any other kind, and a quick check of her dresser had shown that to be the truth. She  _ did _ have a number of white camisoles, but that would have ended in enough blushing to keep them in bed all evening and not watching the movie. “Figure it’ll be another fix or three before the parts get too hard to find anymore.”

“You amaze me, Catherine Kent.”  Lois leaned her head back to brush her lips against Catherine’s gently.  “And there’s no way I could convince you to trade this one in and get something newer?”

“Why? It’s a good television. It works just fine.” Catherine kissed her slowly and lightly, almost chastely, though there was a hint of playful mirth behind her glasses. “A new one would just be new, not better.”

“Higher resolution, less energy consumption, and easier to move around - I’ve seen you struggling to get behind that monster you’ve got there to plug new devices into it.”  Lois drew Catherine’s arm around her own waist. “What about the TV in my living room? Do you like that one?”

“It’s a nice TV. I like it, when I can see it. Usually there are a few stacks of papers in the way.” Now she was definitely teasing.

“Well, then, if it’s the only way to get this old beast into a dumpster or storage unit where it belongs...”  Lois rolled, facing Catherine fully while remaining in her arms. “Move in with me.”

Catherine looked down at her, blinked. Blinked again. Opened her mouth. Closed it. Sat, for a long minute, without saying a word. When she finally did answer, it was in a very low voice that was as serious as her dull blue eyes. “We’re not married, Lois.”

Not an objection. Not exactly. More a hint of confusion, as though the idea was a little bit foreign.

“No, we’re not.  That hasn’t stopped us from rushing off into your bedroom at the end of nearly every date.  Twenty-first century... we’ve grown enough sense to know that you should make sure things work before committing to them for good.  We know the romance works, we know the sex works. What’s left is being around each other all day, every day, for a few months and seeing whether we still want to do that or are on the edge of ripping each other’s hair out.”  Lois kissed Catherine lightly. “It’ll be good.”

“Good.” Catherine’s breath came out in a shaky laugh, and she closed her eyes for a moment as she rested her forehead against Lois’s. “Yeah. It sounds good.” She opened her eyes again, and a smile tugged the edge of her lips. “You’re never going to be in town for a few months straight without leaving for a story. You know that, right?”

“True.  I hadn’t thought of that... but it’s still part of the learning experience.”  Lois touched Catherine’s nose with her fingertip. “Can you handle having me around constantly for two weeks, then gone a week, then there three weeks, then gone nearly a month?”

“For you, Lois Lane? Anything.”

Damn, but when she said that it sounded like she meant it.

“Good!”  Lois rolled back over, leaning her head against Catherine’s neck.  “Extra key’s in my coat pocket. You can get it when the movie’s over... I’m too relaxed now for you to get up.”

“You planned this.” Not an accusation, not from her - not with all that laughter in her voice. “Right down to setting me up with that line about my television. Guess you slick city girls really can spin a girl’s head around, Lois.”

“You bet I planned this.  Did you think I was going to ask you to move in with me on a whim?”  Lois nestled in closer with a smile. “I want you in my bed when I wake up, Cate.  And I want to be coming home to you when I get back from a trip.”

“Lois...” Her voice caught, trembled, and then her hand tipped Lois’s head up and she was kissing those soft lips with a sudden urgency that barely left room for breath, much less thought.  _ Lois. Lois Lane. Rao, I love you. I love you. I love you more than the song of the stars and the dance of sub-atomic particles. More than flying. My Lois. _

Lois’s answering kiss was joyful and desperate, and she threw her arms around Catherine’s neck while turning again to face her, making a sound of pleasure in her throat.

The rest of the movie finished without them.

 

* * *

 

_ Moving in with Lois. Hard to imagine it would have gone quite that easily, but one day I’m living in my own apartment and a month later we’re sharing one. Lucky it doesn’t take me too long to get to the Fortress from Metropolis - I had to find somewhere to store my Superwoman things, and I can’t exactly leave them lying around our new place! Hmm. I suppose I could bury a storage capsule somewhere suitably high and hard to access, but then people might see Catherine Kent hovering in mid-air.... _

_ I really ought to be paying attention. _

“STOP IGNORING ME!”  The twelve-foot-tall, two-headed hell-beast from another galaxy shot down at Superwoman, delivering two firm punches with its lower arms before landing a strong axe-handle strike with its upper.

Superwoman’s head rocked to the side, a subtle hint of a bruise forming across her face from the axe-handled blow, and she caught the alien - whose name she couldn’t quite remember if she’d heard - with both hands, hurtling them skyward. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just a busy time for me. You were saying something about wanting to destroy the world and remake it into an eternal hell of suffering?”

“Flame!  Not suffering!  There has to be something ALIVE to have suffering!”  The beast managed to halt its uncontrolled ascent, turning its sinistral head and breathing down a massive gout of hellfire.  “I knew you weren’t listening to me!”

“Flame, suffering, flame, suffering... I hear so many of these speeches, they start to run together. Sorry.” Superwoman glanced sideways, then smiled. “I’d say we’re about, what, thirty-five thousand feet above sea level?”

“Forty thousand, two hundred and twenty-three.”  The hell beast fired off another blast of fire.

“Wonderful. Shouldn’t be anything in the way, then.” Superwoman plunged forward and drove a punch into the beast that sent it soaring a hundred times faster than sound, vanishing across the horizon, and then waited. Waited. Waited. Turned. Extended her arm.

The impact was audible for several hundred miles.

“Owwwww...”  The creature managed to stop before flying a third time into the arm that had sent it flying in the first place, and reached up with one of its left arms to rub its rightmost cheek.  “Just... ow.”

“Now. I’m sure we can find you a nice flame planet, if that’s what you want. But I’m going to have to insist that when the Lanterns turn up to arrest you in another minute or so, you go quietly.” She cracked her knuckles deliberately, then smiled her most pleasant smile. “Please.”

“Oh, all right.  But can I at least set that first planet in this system on fire first?  Mercul or whatever you call it...”

“Well, if you want to try, you can. Not much atmosphere there to work with, I’m afraid.” She smiled and shook her head, extending her hand. “Please tell any friends you make that Earth is not a good place for mayhem. Or fire.”

“No fire on Earth.  I understand.” The beast sniffed the air.  “Smells like the Earthites are doing a good enough job with that as-is.  I’ll see you around, then?”

“I’m sure we’ll meet again.” Kaer Jor-El escorted him to the edge of the atmosphere politely, saw him safely into the custody of the sector Lanterns, and then started a long slow circuit of the planet as she let herself catch up on what she’d been hearing for the last twenty minutes or so. For once, the world seemed to be getting on more or less well without her - not likely to last, but something to be savored nonetheless.

“Slow day?”  The voice floated through the air lazily behind Superwoman, and when the Kryptonian turned she found Diana hovering nearby.  “You don’t often take a leisurely fly around the planet.”

“Charming alien pyromaniac. Since then... well.” Kaer’s smile was bittersweet. “Just the usual. Fighting off the urge to go stop all the muggings in the world for an hour just to see if it helps. And you, Princess? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You looked relaxed.  I thought I’d join you.”  Diana floated over, reaching for Kaer’s hands.

Kaer slowly slipped her hands into Diana’s, letting the languid spin of their axial orbit draw them both closer as she looked into the eyes of the most powerful - and most beautiful - of the Amazons. “I suppose I am. Things have been going... well. Calmly. I imagine Luthor is going to start some sort of insane death plot soon, but for right now...”

“If you have time to relax...”  Diana leaned forward, a knowing look in her eyes.

“Diana.” Kaer’s voice caught, deepened, and she reached up to tangle a hand in the darkness of Diana’s hair. “Are things well with Trevor?”

“Are they?  I wonder...”  Diana slid into Kaer’s arms easily.

“You’re worried.” Kaer’s arms tightened, pulling the Amazon’s broad frame into hers and feeling herself warm with the touch of their cheeks together. “About the two of you, or something else?”

“He is a man.  Things will work or they will not, and I will survive either way.  I have seen less of you of late than I am used to.”

“I have been... involved. With a human woman. I spend more of my time when I am not working with her.” Kaer’s lips curved in a faint smile. “She is very brave, and very fierce. I suppose she reminds me of you, at times. We are living together now.”

“That is something to celebrate.  You should have shared it with me sooner.”  Diana smiled broadly. “We should celebrate.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d approve. I suppose that was silly of me.” Kaer laughed softly, leaning in and brushing her lips against Diana’s, and her pulse thrilled at the answering flash of heat in the Amazon’s eyes. “I would love to celebrate.”

Diana laughed softly.  “I will always celebrate with you.”  She leaned forward to kiss Kaer firmly with a soft laugh.

“And I with you, Diana.” Kaer thrummed with a low chuckle that filled her throat, then caught the Amazon by the hair and dragged her in for a kiss that could have compressed coal to diamonds. “Always.”

 

* * *

 

There were, Catherine Kent concluded, a lot of uses for super speed - some of them the sort of thing she would never have admitted to her mother. The one she found herself getting the most use out of, though, was cleaning the apartment she shared with Lois Lane. If she hadn’t been able to see Lois’s DNA was clearly human normal, she’d have sworn the woman had a superhuman ability to create chaos when it came to keeping a home tidy. 

She would also have sworn she couldn’t possibly  _ miss _ something like that, but she did. Lois had been in China for six weeks now, and she’d caught herself finding excuses to deal with domestic disasters or robberies in the area just to get a look at Lois. Not that she could let it be too obvious - Superwoman taking too obvious an interest would have offended the Chinese authorities, not to mention their super-team - but she’d taken all the opportunities she could. That, and she’d caught herself using Lois’s favorite mug. 

_ You, Miss Kent, have got it bad _ .

“I have  _ never _ met someone as capable of dodging a question as August General-in-Iron, and I’ve interviewed Alexis Luthor a few dozen times.”  Lois tossed her laptop case onto the sofa as she stumbled in the door, her hair disheveled from a long night of travel. “If I never have to interview a Communist superhero again, it will be too soon.”

“Lois!” Catherine bounded out of the kitchen, eyes alight with pleasure, and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend in a tight hug of greeting. “I didn’t expect you to be home so soon!”

“I didn’t expect me to be home so late...”  Lois wrapped her arms around Catherine, and some of the exhaustion fled her face at the sight of her girlfriend.

“You look exhausted. Let me make you some food.” Catherine kissed her forehead softly, stroking her hair. “You want your sweats?”

“I want a beer, food, and a soft pillow.  Preferably in that order, but I’m flexible.”  Lois tilted her head back to kiss Catherine’s lips.

“All right, Lois. Just a minute.” Catherine kissed her deeply, then got to her feet and reappeared a few moments later with an open beer, Lois’s favorite pillow from the bed and a light pair of flannel pajamas just in case. “Food’s going.”

“You are an angel, Catherine Kent.  A bona fide angel.” Lois took the beer, taking a long drink before starting to strip.  “If I haven’t said I love you before, you know now.”

“It’s come up a time or two.” Catherine’s warm, soft smile was full of pleasure, and she vanished back into the kitchen with a glow of joy on her face.

When Catherine returned with the food, Lois was finishing buttoning herself into the pajamas, and flicked her hand through her hair.  “Now I feel like I’m at home. Think Perry will let me wear these to work in the morning?”

“If he doesn’t, you could always threaten to quit again. That usually makes him cave.” Catherine set the fresh grilled cheese sandwiches and soup on the table, then settled on the couch next to Lois and gave her another long, soft kiss. “Get anything good?”

“A few words on the subject of the Khandaq crisis from August General, a lot of railing against changes to American trade policy from various politicians, and rather more from an unnamed source who might or might not be married to someone in the government.”  Lois reached for her plate and started to eat. “You always know just what I need.”

“I hope so. I love you, and I think that comes with the territory.” Catherine watched Lois eat, softness in her eyes, running a soft hand over her lover’s thigh. “Want me to run you a hot bath?”

“That sounds lovely.  Thank you.” Lois turned her head to kiss Catherine’s cheek.

Catherine walked to the bathroom and started the hot water running, sitting on the edge of the tub and watching it fill, letting the world pour into her ears for a moment to make sure nothing was going to interrupt the next hour or two. You could never be sure, but it did help to take a quick sample before she took Lois to bed - it cut down on the number of mysterious phone calls she had to rush off after.

Besides, she wanted tonight.  _ Needed _ tonight.

The hot water was fogging her glasses. Absently, she reached up and took them off to wipe the steam away.

“Mmm... feels nice in here.”  Lois’s arms slid around Catherine from behind, and her breath brushed Catherine’s ear.  “Very nice.”

“Glad you like it.” Catherine started to put her glasses back on, leaning into Lois’s arms. “I put in your favorite bath salts, too.”

“I just need my favorite companion, and I’ll be set...”  Lois brushed her fingers along Catherine’s jaw. “Do you think I can get that?”

“I.... think we can do that. The tub’s pretty narrow, though, so we’d have to squeeze in tight. Sure that’d help relax you?” Catherine half-turned into those familiar fingers, glasses still in her hand, and kissed the inside of Lois’s palm.

Lois leaned forward, turning Catherine’s head to kiss her gently on the lips, then paused as she pulled back from the kiss, looking into her girlfriend’s eyes.   _ Those eyes.  I’ve seen them before... _  She shook herself a bit.   _ Of course I have.  They’re Catherine’s.  Why is that surprising? _

“Lois?” Catherine squinted, fumbled her glasses back on, then crooked a curious smile. “Is something wrong?”

“No... nothing.”  Lois smiled back, shaking the remainder of the thought from her mind.  “Just... an odd thought. It’s gone now.”

“Okay. If you get off me, I can get undressed for the tub?” Catherine’s smile was deferential as usual, but there was a hunger in her eyes - hunger that made them seem almost as vivid as they had been in that moment without her glasses.

Lois smiled, pulling back after giving Catherine one last, hungry kiss.  “Then do so.” She began to quite quickly unfasten her pajamas.

Catherine slid to her feet, undressing with awkward haste, and actually beat Lois in the tub - by the time Lois looked up, she was already settling under the water and smiling up at her lover. “Whatcha waiting for, slowpoke?”

“Nothing at all.”  Lois slipped into the tub, pressing against her girlfriend with a joyful grin.  “Nothing at all.”

 

* * *

 

Lunch had been expensive, and excellent. Unusually expensive, in fact - Lois had half-expected either an apology or bad news, and gotten neither. What she  _ had _ gotten was an invitation for a walk in the park with Catherine Kent, which was even more unusual. Not that Catherine didn’t adore walks - in the park or on the streets of Metropolis - but it was rare that she expected Lois to be  _ available _ for long enough at a stretch to do both a long lunch and a walk. In fact, Lois was beginning to wonder about that herself - her phone had been suspiciously silent for almost three hours now, as had Catherine’s, which had to be breaking some sort of law of probability if it was a coincidence. If it wasn’t....

“Beautiful day.”  Lois slipped her arm around Catherine’s waist, smiling softly.   _ Either she’s plotting or the Planet’s been destroyed in an alien invasion I somehow haven’t noticed... _

“It is.” Catherine smiled, walking them past the Superwoman monument toward the fountains and listening to the life of the city around them and the pulse of the woman beside her. Feeling the extra few grams of weight in her right breast pocket. “Fall in Metropolis - who could ask for better? Now I just need one of Rashid’s pretzels, and the world will be perfect.”

“We could get some.”  Lois grinned. “The stand’s not far from here.”

“Maybe we will. There was something I wanted to ask you before we left the park, though.” Catherine’s answering grin was just a little slow, the eyes behind her glasses serious. 

“What is it?”  Lois paused, letting her hand trail from Catherine’s waist to her hand.

“Well, you see, I’ve been thinking about the future a lot lately. What I want, where I want to be in the next few years. What I need in my life.” Catherine turned as she stopped, holding Lois’s hand in hers, and her voice softened. “Who I need. So the question, Miss Lane, is this.” She went to one knee, palming the box out of her jacket, and opened it to let the sun spill onto the brilliant gold-framed diamond inside. “Will you make me the luckiest woman in the world and marry me?”

“Marry you?  Of course I’ll marry you.”  Lois extended her hand, her smile widening.  “Of course I’ll marry you, Cate.”

“Thank you.” There were tears in Catherine’s eyes now, tears she didn’t try to stop, and she slipped the ring onto Lois’s finger before she stood and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, holding her fiercely. “Thank you, Lois.”

Lois drew Catherine in against her, smiling widely against her lover’s neck.  “I love you. Of course I’ll marry you.”

“I just... I guess I wasn’t sure. Silly, isn’t it? Wasn’t sure if you’d want to spend the rest of our lives sharing an apartment, running from deadline to deadline, putting up with me always having to run out the door.” Catherine breathed her in - her scent, right down the smallest particle. “I love you. Thank you.”

Lois pressed as close as she could.  “I love you, Catherine. And I’ve been happy with you.  If you’ve put up with me this long, least I can do is marry you.”

“It’s a joy, Lois. It’s always a joy.” Catherine closed her eyes, pressing her face to that soft hair, and breathed out.  _ It’s time.  _ “How about we pick up our pretzels and walk to the subway, then ride home for a late afternoon nap?”

“As long as you don’t plan to sleep at all during that nap.”  Lois winked.

“I wasn’t planning to, no.” Catherine’s blush was rich, warm and deep, but she smiled like the sun. “Let’s walk.”

“Let’s.”  Lois settled in against Catherine, her free hand rising to let her admire the ring on her finger.  “If I can be petty a moment... Cat Grant is going to be jealous enough to spit nails. She’s been trying to get her boyfriend to propose for nearly a year.”

“I never mind you being petty about Cat.” Catherine’s lips twitched in amusement. “Just because I can’t bring myself to be doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have your fun.”

“I’m going to show her this rock.  I’m going to show it to her and make her look at it... really look at it.  Stare at it until she’s counted the facets and felt the weight of it with her eyes.  And she’s going to cry. She’s not going to do so in front of me, but she’s going to cry, and that, my love, will be satisfying.”  Lois paused. “You didn’t rob a bank to pay for this, did you? From some of your crime reporting, I expect you’d know how...”

“No, Lois, I didn’t rob a bank.” Catherine smiled crookedly, leaning over to kiss Lois’s cheek. “As a matter of fact, it was a gift from a friend of yours. I understand she pressed it herself.”

“You didn’t.  You asked Superwoman to make a diamond for you to propose?”  Lois blinked up at Catherine. “Brave girl.”

“No! No.” Catherine shook her head emphatically. “I didn’t ask. I was ring shopping and she just... turned up. I guess she must have seen me, and she said ‘None of those are going to do for Miss Lane, Miss Kent.’”

“She volunteered?”  Lois laughed softly.  “Take me home, Smallville.”

It was a long subway ride home - something about trouble with the D train - but neither of them cared. Their pretzels were warm, the mustard sharp, and the company very friendly indeed. By the time they got to their third-story apartment, the sun had started to slide down behind the Metropolis skyline and the air was just starting to chill. Catherine unlocked the door, let Lois in ahead of her, and shut it behind her.

Lois almost danced into the apartment, starting to unbutton her blouse as soon as the door was closed.  “I love you, Cate, and insist on knowing why you’re still dressed.”

Catherine stood inside, leaning against the door, and closed her eyes for a long moment to drag air into her lungs. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn’t seem to stop it, and all the power in the world didn’t seem to help with the fact that her voice was caught in her throat. Finally, still silent, she reached up and took off her glasses. Straightened her shoulders. Let her voice firm up. Let the shy uncertainty fall out of her face, and looked Lois straight in the eye. “Well, Miss Lane, that’s one important question I don’t have a good answer for.”

“Well, then...”  Lois paused, blinking, staring at Catherine, before her eyes widened.  “No. This can’t be right... can it? It is. You’re...” She stood, entirely stunned.

“Catherine Kent, born Kaer Jor-El, the Last Daughter of Krypton.” She smiled faintly. “Breathe, Lois.”

“Superwoman.”  Lois reached for Catherine’s hand.  “You’re Superwoman.”

“Yes.” Catherine took her hand gently, pulling her a few steps closer with an effortless little tug, those impossibly blue eyes looking deep into hers. “But more importantly, I’m Catherine Kent.”

“You spent all that time pursuing me when you already had me.”  Lois laughed softly and threw herself into Catherine’s arms. “You silly woman.”

“I...” Catherine laughed, warm and deeply, and some of that vulnerable humanity came back into her face as she bent to press a kiss to Lois’s forehead. “This is going to sound insane, but I didn’t want you to love her. Superwoman. I wanted you to love me.”

Lois tilted her head back to kiss Catherine deeply.  “I do love you. And I won’t tell anyone. Bed?”

“Bed.” Catherine kissed her, slowly and passionately, and then lifted Lois in her arms and carried her effortless toward their bedroom. “Absolutely and unquestionably.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... that finishes the story of Cate and Lois. I really hope people have enjoyed reading this... it was a joy to write, and in the process of getting it posted I've quite fallen in love with Cate once again.


End file.
